Rules of the Table
by Sheankelor
Summary: This is a one-shot in the Spinner's End universe -Once a Headmaster and A Place - that was born from Sithtar's review. How did the rule about Severus not being allowed to read at the table happen? Takes place in Severus' year 1 of Hogwarts, but no Marauders make an appearance. Rated T on a whim and reviews are snuggled before they provide nutrition for plot bunnies.


_AN: This is the one-shot that was born for __Sithtar_'s review. It takes place way in the past compared to all the others in this universe. It actually starts before Severus' first year. Please enjoy!  


_The next chapter of Headmaster is about to be started. ^-^  
_

_Ree  
_

_edited: 9/28/2012: Raya said there were a couple of scenes that needed work, so there are two sections that are now different if you read this before. So, no you are not going crazy. ^-^ Enjoy!  
_

_Rules of the Table _

Severus crouched near the edge of the park turning the sand over in the sand box. Lily and Thomas couldn't come today. Lily was going shopping with Petunia and her Mom. Thomas had to help clean up the house as his relatives were coming in for a visit. _'I need to make sure that the porch is cleaned off and that the yard doesn't look too bad.'_

Sighing lightly, he settled back onto his heels while his mind rolled over the dilemma that had been plaguing him since he had received his Hogwarts letter. Thomas was going to the local high school. He and Lily had told their muggle friend that they were going to a boarding school. Lily had made a big deal out of it being a school for the gifted. His dilemma was that now Thomas expected to swap school stories when they came home for the summer. Lily didn't see this as a problem, but then again, she didn't live next door to Thomas either. _'Did he tell Mr. or Mrs. Jameson?'_ A frisson of worry burned down his spine. If Thomas had told his parents, then they were also going to ask about what he was learning. He was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts by a woman nearby talking loudly to someone near her.

"I think it will be for the best. I know that the schools around here try, but they just aren't up to my standards. So, I will be homeschooling them." A overweight blonde brushed crumbs off the shirt of a girl a bit older than Severus.

"But they are still going to have to take the tests. You do know that, right?" The dark haired lady tilted her head lightly as she waited to hear the answer.

The blond looked affronted. "Of course they will. And they'll pass them too."

The dark haired lady smiled. "Are you going to hire a tutor or teach them yourself?"

The blonde sent the girl off with a gentle push on her shoulder. "I'll teach them for now, but I am going to eventually have to hire a tutor."

The dark haired lady nodded. "I was considering doing something like that for Jimmy, but I have no idea where to start to get the paperwork, or how to process any of it. I'm not even sure I can teach him."

Severus moved a bit closer, focusing all his attention to the explanation the blonde was giving. This could be the answer to his problem. As the information was exchanged, he knew he could manipulate the system somehow to let him do this without his parents knowing. It would be just what he needed to do so that the Jamesons would never be suspicious that he was actually studying magic.

The dark haired lady jotted down a number before she took off after an errant boy who was climbing the slide while someone was trying to come down it.

Severus wrote the number into the sand, staring at it until it was set into his mind. Somehow, he was going to have to find away to call them and keep them from being suspicious. Then again, people normally only saw what they wanted, so it would most likely be a piece of cake to convince them of his cover story.

セヴェルス サナペ

Severus found that he barely had time to pull together the homeschool information and turn in the required papers. Not long after that day at the park, the butcher, Mrs. Timolin, hired him to work in the shop with her. It was a wonderful opportunity to work there. He wasn't sure how she cleared it for an eleven year old to work in the store, but that was her problem. He was just glad that he could save up the money to cover his muggle school costs. He also knew that he needed a back up just in case he did poorly at Hogwarts and this was it. Mrs. Timolin was abrasive and had a glare capable of taking paint off, but it was a job and it prepared him for his real future's plan. His true plan was becoming a chef like Grandma Ann and working at the butcher taught him about the different cuts and qualities of meats.

Even with all these distractions, he succeeded in getting the paperwork filled out and turned in. Sure, he had to forge his parents' signatures, but it was worth learning what the curriculum for the upcoming school years would be for the muggles. He also put Hogwarts as his home address. He did end up using most of his earnings to buy all the books he would need for the classes he was homeschooling in. His trunk was a bit heavier than other first years when he boarded the train at the end of August.

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It was after the opening feast that Severus finally put away the book he was reading. He had it tucked in his robe during the sorting and had opened it at the table to continue reading about transfigurations while he nibbled on whatever was on his plate. The other first years had to catch his attention when it was time to go to their dormitories. When his head touched his pillow, he drifted off his mind swirling the words he had read about attempting to make sense of them. This was soon to be a normal occurrence.

As the first week passed, Severus was always found at the table with a book in the place of his plate. His plate was pushed off to the side, and he nibbled a bit here and there. He refused to be anything but near if not top of his class for his year. It was where he was used to being. He studied his muggle books in his dorm room, stretched out across his bed with the curtains closed. It hadn't taken him long to learn about the opinions of muggles and muggle things that were prevalent in the Slytherin dormitory.

It was in the second week that he learned that it was common for a wizard of breeding to know Greek, Latin, and French. Many of the pure-bloods had been studying it for years before they came to Hogwarts. Feeling the stigma of not knowing, Severus started studying the languages. He had tried to convince Lily to at least study Latin, but she didn't see it as important. It was at the end of the third week that he found himself in the common room with a thick tome on Latin. The parchment next to him was covered in scribbles connecting Latin and French words together in an attempt to make learning the related languages easier.

Lucius Malfoy watched as the dark haired, skinny first year lugged yet another book across the room before settling into the armchair he had claimed as his. He looked at the others around him. They just shook their heads. Not one of them wanted to approach the first year about his book habit. They had all seen his attitude with the other first years. Not one of them would come near the boy now unless they were assigned as his partner in class. With a contained sigh, Lucius strode over to the boy. Plucking the tome out of the small hands, he noticed it was a Latin textbook. He looked over at the boy and was met by a strong glare that was made even more fierce by the black eyes. "You are not a Ravenclaw. Why are you always reading?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting on a response.

Severus glared at the supercilious blond that had his book. He had a lot to catch up on and this other boy was preventing him from getting to where he needed to be. Between his muggle books, his wizarding course books and these languages, he didn't have time for anything else. He really didn't have time for all three of them, but he was trying. Time management, something he had seen in action at the butcher shop as Mrs. Timolin efficiently ran the store and taught him as well, was a skill he was slowly and painstaking mastering. Folding his arms in front of his chest he did best to channel Mrs. Timolin as he increased the level of his glare while he tried to look down at the blond. "I am attempting to catch up." Not that he wanted to admit it, but the blond would figure that out if he looked at what Severus was reading. "Most of you already know Latin, Greek and French. I am just starting with the languages."

Lucius blinked slowly. The boy was trying to learn all three languages on his own? He glanced about the common room. They could all use the practice, and it would help the boy with the added benefit of getting his nose out of his books. He was ruining their reputation. Books are not read at the dinning room table. "We could practice speaking them with you. That is the best way to learn them. Of course, you must learn to read and write them, but I am sure that some of us could quiz you periodically."

He waited for the fawning and cries of gratitude that was sure to come. Instead his gaze was met by one that was turning his suggestion over and looking at all the corners. He knew then that he was looking at a true Slytherin, no matter how Ravenclaw he acted. The books were a means to an end, that was all. He could see that plain as day now.

Severus knew that Malfoy's suggestion was a good one, and that if he said it would happen, then it would. It would also free up some time for his other studies. His only concern was what he would have to give for this privilege. Everything came at a price. His friendship with Thomas and Lily cost him in privacy. The job with Mrs. Timolin cost him his ability to defend himself against the sarcasm and glares she extruded. And this other boy was the acknowledged leader of the dormitories, the most Slytherin of the Slytherins. He would not be doing this for nothing. "What do you get out of this?"

Lucius knew better than to mention the books at the table. So, he decided quickly on a different route. "It will let us practice and keep up on the skill, and it will make the others learn as well so that they do not disgrace the house."

Severus narrowed his eyes as he considered the answer. He decided that it could be the truth and nodded. "Then I agree to your help."

Lucius kept his surprise from showing on his face. There was no fawning, or even a thanks. He smirked and went to announce the decision to the rest of the common room. While they were in the dormitory, they could only speak French, Latin or Greek. English was to only be used outside the room.

To Lucius' disappointment, that did not solve the problem of the books at the table. Instead of language tomes, it was class books.

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Slughorn sat down across from Flitwick in the staffroom. He had been to all the other staff members and had discovered that Snape was not having any problems in any of their classes. So, now he had a dilemma. He had no idea how to tell a student to slow down on the studying. And that was why he was here now. Who better to help him than the Head of Ravenclaw?

He cleared his throat lightly. "Flitwick, is a first year Slytherin named Severus Snape having problems in your class?"

Flitwick tilted his head slightly while he tried to put the name to a face. He pulled up a tall first year with dark hair with a book in hand. "No, Snape is doing quite well in my class. Not the top of the class, but at a respectful level."

Slughorn nodded. "It is the same with all his other teachers. I need your help. I don't know how to approach him about his book habit."

Flitwick raised his eyebrows. "Book habit?"

"You might not have noticed, since you are watching your Ravenclaws during meals, but Snape brings a book to all his meals and barely eats a thing. This needs to stop. The boy is too skinny as it is."

Flitwick frowned as he tried to think if he had noticed this or not. He could not pull up a single memory of the Slytherin table this year. "What do you want me to do? I can give you some advice, but you are his head of house, you are the one he will listen to."

Slughorn shook his head slightly. "I think it would be best coming from you. The voice of experience, or the expert so to say. He would respect that."

Filtwick narrowed his eyes as he realized that the head of Slytherin was pushing this duty off on him. But he also knew that if the boy was like any of his house, then he was right. "I'll talk to him."

セヴェルス サナペ

Severus flopped back onto his bed. Speaking the three languages was hard to do, but he was definitely learning them. Some of the fourth years were talking about adding German and Spanish next year. He shook his head, wondering how he was going to add those to his schedule. But he had to admit that since the house had started helping him with his language studies it had opened up his schedule a bit. And he was glad for the reprieve that it had given him. He had been able to catch up on his Muggle classes. History of Magic had also turned into a blessing in disguise for him. Professor Binns didn't notice what was going on in the class. _'Honestly, if he gets anymore blind to what is going on in the classroom he should just pass on. As it is, no one seems to be learning the subject. At least, not from him.'_ This was his blessing since his dorm mates had become more interested in what he was studying. So, he had taken to using that class period to study his muggle books. The rest of his classes were going fairly well. He was not as high in the class rank as he wanted to be, but he understood that it was because he was stretching himself too thin. That had taken a good week to understand and accept. If he could eek a few more hours out of the day, he would do better. Closing his eyes, he ran through his impressions of the classes.

_'Charms is fairly straight forward so far. Nothing too complicated as long as you can copy wand patterns and know how to pronounce the words. Latin is truly being helpful with the spells. History of Magic … I am just going to have to treat that class as if it was one of my Muggle ones. Read the book and research the answers if they aren't in the text. Transfigurations is a bit rough. I can do it, but the visualization is a bit tough to get right straight away. Flying lessons was almost a waste of time. Up on the broom, zoom about a bit and hope you don't fall off. It was fun to do, but if you are not going to play Quidditch then it isn't that useful. There are better ways to traveling the wizarding world. _

_All those books I studied on the Dark Arts... I won't say it was wasted, but I think they are definitely much more advanced than what we are currently learning in Defense. We haven't learned a single way to block those spells.'_ He let his mind drift over the last month of the class. They had learned about animals, a few basic spells and not one was a decent shield. A number of the students were struggling, but he felt that was more to do with the teacher than the class. Severus understood what was going on, but he knew that it was due to the fact that he spent the last three years deciphering those books that had been locked up in the attic.

_'Herbology is nothing like tending the small patch of dirt Mother calls a garden. The plants are interesting. I wondered how they can be used in potions, or even simple cooking? Would devil snare make a good salad? Or could it be used to tie up a crown roast? I'm not sure that I should ask Professor Sprout that when she gets to them though._

_The last class is the best. Potions. It is almost like being back in Grandma Ann's kitchen again. I can't wait until we get a chance to experiment. I know that we have to get the basics down, that we have to learn how to prepare the ingredients, how to stir the cauldron, and to control the temperature. We also have to learn about the ingredients before we can try to improve a potion or even create a new one. It is the same as cooking. It took almost three years before Grandma Ann would let me experiment.'_ His thoughts drifted back to the class. There were some students that needed to learn not to play. Ingredients were being casually tossed about and ending up in the wrong cauldrons. He wondered if it would help to see if Lily could talk to those Gryffindor boys that seemed not to know what danger they were putting them all in. He would do it, but they were already not getting along. Slughorn also played favorites and did so openly. It was a bit miffing to not be noticed, but he refused to let it bother him yet.

Sighing, he sank further down into his pillow. Sleep was calling him, but he had to ignore it. There was still too much he wanted to get done. Rolling over, he pulled a blue covered book. _'Those book covers I picked up before I came here to hide the condition of the used books are showing their use. Blue for the muggle school books and green for the wizard school books. And since they are a thick paper, I was able to draw pictures and symbols to represent the book so that no one else knows the title.'_ Flipping open the math book, he started working on the set of problems he had set for himself tonight. It wasn't too much later that he fell asleep, his nose buried between the pages, the wet ink on the parchment leaving number impressions on his cheek.

セヴェルス サナペ

Flitwick watched as his Slytherin-Ravenclaw class were attempting to cast the newest charm he had shown them. His eyes flicked over the dark haired boy that he had spent the last couple of days observing. Ever since Slughorn had dropped his problem into Flitwick's lap, the half goblin had taken the time to watch him wherever he could. He could tell that there was far more going on than just books at the table. He wondered if Slughorn had looked into the boy's sleeping habit. The first year was showing all the signs of over work. Holding back a sigh, he decided to keep the boy back after class and talk to him.

"Mr. Snape, stay after please." It was almost dismissal time so very shortly he was facing the tired, puzzled face of the black haired boy.

"Yes, Professor?" Severus wondered what he had done to be held back. He was mentally running through the class attempting to pinpoint the moment that caused this unexpected event.

Flitwick noted the puzzled and mildly concerned look and decided he needed to put the boy's mind at ease. "Mr. Snape, I have noticed that you are not eating much at meals. Instead you spend your time reading and writing." His eyes flickered over the child's face. "I can also see that you are not sleeping as much as you should. I understand the need to succeed, and the draw of books, but you must take care of yourself as well. You must learn to balance your time and obligations so that you do not do yourself harm."

Severus narrowed his eyes for a brief moment. This revelation was not anything that he had not thought about himself. He knew that he was managing his time poorly. And if the Head of Ravenclaw had noticed then surely Slughorn must have. _'Why is not Slughorn not talking to me about this? He is my head of house, not Flitwick.'_

Flitwick caught the puzzled look and figured that he was wondering why the Head of Ravenclaw was talking to him about this. He decided to let Slughorn handle that explanation. "You need to eat proper meals and sleep the night through so that the information you are trying to understand has a chance to process. That way your mind can make sense of the material you are putting into it." He looked straight into the black eyes. "Do you understand, Mr. Snape?"

Severus nodded yes while his mind was in a whirl trying to figure out how he was going to fit everything in. He was going to have to rearrange his schedule again, because he knew that Flitwick would be watching him. And since the small professor knew the signs to look for, he couldn't fool him.

Flitwick smiled. "Good. Then I will expect to see you eating at meals and looking rested in classes." Handing the first year a pass, he sent him on to his next class.

セヴェルス サナペ

That evening Severus stared at himself in the mirror while the other boys were down in the common room. He let his eyes rake over his face, taking in the thinness of it and the dark circles that were starting to become permanent fixtures. When his eyes met those in the mirror, he was pulled back into another more pleasant time.

_"Leland Snape! You have to stop doing so much." Grandma Ann's hands rested on her hips as she glared at the tired looking man. _

_Severus looked into a pair of eyes that were normally sparkling happily, full of energy. Now they were a worn out, tired, dead looking black that stood out in a overly thin, pale face. _

_The tired eyes drifted from Tobias to Grandma Ann. "I don't have a choice. What else am I supposed to do? I have to get everything done now."_

_Grandma Ann's glare increased. "And if you succeed, you will end up in the hospital. Your body can't handle you ignoring it." _

_Uncle Leland huffed and folded his arms. "I'll be fine."_

_Grandma Ann snorted lightly and spun about heading back into the kitchen. Severus followed her intent on helping with the biscuits that they had chilling in the refrigerator. _

_Grandma Ann pulled out the bowl and sprinkled the table with sugar. Severus tapped her arm lightly to get her attention._

_"Can we add cinnamon to the sugar this time?" He held out the small spice bottle his eyes holding his hope that she would say yes. _

_Grandma Ann let out a pent up sigh. "We can on the last batch we roll." She scooped out half the bowl of dough and gestured for the six year old to start rolling it flat. Her eyes took on a faraway look as she watched him. Tapping a cutter on the table top, her fingers clenched around the handle. "Severus... don't ever do what Leland is doing. There is time enough in the world to do what you want without driving yourself to an early grave trying to get it all done." She flickered her eyes towards the small dark haired boy. "We, the Snapes, have a tendency to take on more than we can handle. And sometimes it works out okay, but sometimes..." She sighed. "If you manage your time, even if you have overloaded your plate, you might be able to pull it off. But you have to make sure that you sleep and eat. Those are the most important things in the world. Your body can't survive long without them." _

_When she looked over at the door that was separating them from the rest of the family, Severus was sure that she was thinking about Uncle Leland. Picking up a cutter that looked like a Christmas tree he started cutting out the sugar cookies. _

_Ann looked down at the small boy next to her. Sometimes she was sure she could see the darkness of a tormented future clinging to the small frame. Sinking down to his level, she rested a hand on his shoulder and met his eyes. "Promise me you won't do what your uncle is doing. That when you find yourself overworked, you will make sure that you take care of yourself."_

_Severus looked into the worried light brown eyes and smirked lightly at her. "Of course I will. You'll be here to make sure I do, won't you."_

_Ann returned the smirk with one of her own, but her eyes were sad. "I can't be here all the time, but I'll know if you break your promise." Turning slightly she looked at the cut dough on the table. "We are not doing all trees, no matter how much you like them." She quirked an eyebrow up. "I think it is because it is the largest cutter. You get more biscuit that way."_

_Severus shrugged and turned back to the dough. There was no way he was going to tell her she was right. _

A sigh escaped the boy reflected in the mirror. Uncle Leland had ended up in the hospital on Christmas Day, and then had to be taken care of for the next month for exhaustion. _'And I am starting to look just like him. I promised Grandma Ann, and she promised she would know.' _Closing his eyes briefly, he turned from the mirror._ 'And she was stubborn enough to come back and haunt me for breaking it.'_

Heading back into the dormitory, Severus sat down on his bed trying to arrange his time to fit all he wanted to accomplish and still keep his promise. _'There just isn't enough hours in the day to learn all this. When is the muggle work due?'_ Rifling though his trunk, he pulled out the curriculum that came with the homeschool information that he had written about. It was what had him decided to give the homeschooling a shot. Smirking at the memory, he skimmed the information. He had to send in an accounting of attendance, which he could easily forge, and then didn't have to take a test until the GCSE's at the end of his fifth year. That meant that he could spread some of the material further into the school year, and possible the next year as well. He would just have to make sure not to talk about what he hadn't studied with the Jamesons.

A quick glance down the course load that he had to carry for the next five years, he noticed that he was to pick up foreign language in a couple of years and that the three that he was currently studying counted. _'So, in a couple of years I will have a bit more breathing room. I can move some of the history lessons until then, but I think it is easier to study then in concert with Magical History. I just have to remember not to put them on the same time line again.'_ That had almost been a bad thing. He had been charting out Muggle and Magical history together, marking them on a time line like his old history teacher had shown him. It made more sense if he could see them visually stretched out together. They just clicked that way. One of the other first years had decided to look over shoulder, and for once his scratchy handwriting came to his aid. Nott commented on his poor handwriting skills instead of what was on the paper. He had glared at the boy and that sent him on his way, but he had learned his lesson.

Sighing lightly, he pulled out a clean piece of paper and gridded out the calendar for the next five years. He was going to have to make a rough plan. Lily's bragging was making his life very difficult. _'Not that I would give up her friendship for it. But her story to Thomas is cutting into the time I can spend with her.'_

セヴェルス サナペ

Flitwick noted the improvement in Snape's eating and sleeping habits. They corresponded with his improvement in his grades in Charms. He considered his task done. But he could tell that Slughorn disagreed as the other professor sat down across from him.

"Snape is still bringing his books to the table. I thought you were going to talk to him about this?" Slughorn's tone was not accusatory, but more curious. He had never known the small Charms professor not to do as he said.

"Ah, but the book is on the side, and the plate is in front of him. He is eating now. That was the result you wanted, wasn't it?" Flitwick was not going to tell the boy he couldn't read at the table. What if that was when he did his best studying?

Slughorn nodded. It was the main concern he brought to Flitwick's attention. _'And what if the boy really needs to study during meals to keep up? I need to talk to the prefects.'_ Standing up, he brushed down the front of his robes lightly. "Yes, it was. Thank you, Filius."

Filius smiled as the other walked away like a man on a mission. He had a feeling that the Ravenclaw in snake skin was about to battle for his books. He hoped that the boy was as much a Slytherin as a Ravenclaw.

セヴェルス サナペ

Lucius sat perfectly still, so still his tutor would have been proud of him. Just behind his chair, not five paces away, Professor Slughorn and all the prefects were talking. Closing his eyes, he focused on them, blocking out all his other senses.

Slughorn folded his hands in front of his belly. "So, is Snape doing so poorly in his classes that he needs to study at the table?"

The prefects looked at each other. It was weird to hear English in the common room now. It had almost been a month since it had been spoken there. Knowing that Malfoy would understand if they ignored the rule for this conversation, they responded in English.

Clare glanced at the other fifth year prefect before answering. "No, he isn't doing poorly in his classes. He is in the top half of all of them if the other first years are to be believed."

Slughorn nodded slightly. This was consistent to all the reports that he had from the other teachers. The boy was almost the top in his class. "Does he study in the common room and in his breaks as well as at the table?"

Clare nodded. "That is about all you see the boy do. Study."

Slughorn held in his sigh. Maybe the boy needed to study that much. There was always one in every bunch. At least for this one it helped.

Lucius moved just enough to spot the looks that all the prefects and the professor were giving each other. They were totally underestimating the first year. _'They haven't ever looked Snape in the eyes and seen him thinking. Surely the prefects know just how well he is picking up the languages. Then again, they might not know that he knew basically nothing when we started.'_ He narrowed his eyes. If that was the case, then they probably thought the black haired boy was a bit slow. _'All of this is about table manners. Snape is not dumb. Untrained definitely. Muggle or poor wizard raised most likely. But not lacking in intelligence. Right now he is so focused on keeping up with his classes and learning the languages that he is missing the hints about his manners.'_ With a slight frown creasing his brow, he settled quietly back into hiding. The black glare and abrupt manners played in his mind's eye. With a smirk, he decided that he needed to handle this, since none of those who were supposed to would.

セヴェルス サナペ

Severus had retired to the far corner of the common room. It was a spot that had become his over the last two months. There was one comfortable chair, a large coffee table stretched out before it, and enough lamps to light it adequately enough to read and write by. His books were stacked onto one side of the table, his inkpot was on the other side, with his parchments in the middle. He was currently working on his potions essay, referring to the three other books he had open next to his potions textbook. On rare occasions he would jot notes into the margins of his textbook. He was totally absorbed in the essay and coming up with ideas on how he would like to change the potion that he was researching. This ended when a piece of parchment with elegantly scripted words flowing over it landed on top of his work.

Lucius dropped the parchment on top of the first year's work. It may have appeared to the room to be a careless drop, but he had calculated the timing and the force so that it would not smudge the other's work. He watched as the dark head lifted and the equally dark eyes glared at him.

"What do you want, Malfoy? I am trying to work here." Severus was quaking inside. You just didn't talk to Malfoy like that, but he refused to back down to the other boy, no matter how much power the blond held. He backed down only to his Mother and his Father.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. He hated to admit it, but it was refreshing to talk to someone who wasn't scraping and fawning. He would never let Snape know it though. "Read it and follow it."

Severus ran his eyes down the list. It was written in English, French, Greek, and Latin. He wasn't slow enough not to notice that it was done on purpose. It was a reminder of the power of the boy who was bothering him. Snapping his eyes back up to the gray ones, he gestured to the list. "Are you mocking me?" The words came out as a low hiss.

Tilting his head, the blond took in the anger that was radiating from the black eyes. "You have immersed yourself so deep in your studies that you have missed observing a few important things about the house you have joined." He leaned forward and tapped the list of rules. "We have impeccable manners outside of this common room. This list is to remind you of the rules you are supposed to follow when you are sitting at any table. It doesn't matter if it is in your own house or in a restaurant. And especially in the Great Hall." He carefully set his hands down on the table, avoiding messing up the organized mess, and leaned closer to the smaller face. "Slughorn and the prefects think you are slow. They think you need the extra time with your books at the table. That is why they are refusing to bring this matter up to you. "

Severus backed up a bit, putting some needed space between their faces, but not too much that their conversation would be overheard. The words that Malfoy said sunk in. _'How dare they? I am not stupid. They actually think that I can not pass without studying every moment of the day? I'd like to see one of them take muggle classes, wizarding classes and three languages at the same time, and still pass.'_

Lucius spotted the spark of anger in the black eyes. Good, he need the other boy mad enough, his pride stung enough, to do what he wanted him to do. "You and I... we know differently. If it weren't for these new languages you would be top of the year. So, I am giving you the rules of the table. These are given to every well off pure-blood. We were raised on them, and some cases they were beat into us." He flicked a glance to Crabbe and Goyle before focusing again on Snape. "You would do good to pick a book on etiquette and add it to your study schedule." He almost missed the resigned look that morphed into a calculating look in the black eyes. Leaning back a bit, he tapped the list. "But you better follow these and stop disgracing our house."

Severus swept a glance over the list of rules. They were simple, and even resembled the ones his mother had hammered into his head. Which made sense considering who she was. Looking back into the waiting gray eyes, he nodded. He would do it, if for no other reason than to prove to the others he wasn't stupid.

セヴェルス サナペ

Slughorn glanced between the Slytherin table and Filius Flitwick. Did the other professor actually talk to the boy? He made eye contact with the prefects. Their gazes showed that they were in the dark as much as he was. Shifting his eyes to the first year that had been a small thorn in his side since the beginning of school, he was amazed to see Snape eating and holding a stilted conversation with the people around him. There was not a book in sight.

Lucius glanced down the table. _'Snape obviously knew those rules. He uses them without thinking about it. He just needed a reminder.'_ He held in a smirk as he noted the obvious puzzlement on Slughorn's and the prefects' faces.

For the next two weeks, Lucius kept subtle tabs on the first year's grades. Slughorn was less subtle, but did the same. There was no slipping at all. At the end of the third week, Lucius posted the list of rules he had given Snape in the common room; there were others that needed to learn them.

Severus spotted the Rules of the Table on the common room message board. Shaking his head slightly, he headed for his area. He had a lot of studying to make up since he couldn't do it at the table anymore. To his infinite amusement, it turned out that he didn't need to buy an etiquette book. The common room board was soon full of the rules of society.


End file.
